Microsoft rolls out a new AI-powered To-Do feature for Word

The explosion of digital data coupled by advancement in technology has enabled tech giants like Microsoft to create a whole new world of possibilities. They have started building solutions powered by Artificial Intelligence. Some have already been enrolled in Office apps. A new AI-powered to-do function for Microsoft Word lets users track their unfinished tasks and invite others to collaborate.

New Artificial Intelligence powered To-Do feature for Word

Microsoft Word for long has remained the preferred choice for creating professional-quality documents. Its utility has been enhanced furthermore by adding the ability to create placeholders automatically when users type “TODO: finish this section” or “<<insert closing here>>” in Word documents.

Today, we’re starting to roll out new capabilities to Word that help users create and fill in these placeholders without leaving the flow of their work. For example, type TODO: finish this section or <<insert closing here>> and Word recognizes and tracks them as to-dos. When you come back to the document, you’ll see a list of your remaining to-dos, and you can click each one to navigate back to the right spot, mentions Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365,

Often, we are forced to leave a document unfinished due to some temporary distractions or interruptions. At such times, we leave a placeholder so that next time we start, we pick up from the spot we last stopped. This ensures we do not lose the track and stay in the flow.

Beginning now, Word will help you create and fill in these placeholders, once you’ve created your to-dos. Also, if you need help from a friend or coworker, just @mention them within a placeholder. The application will instantly send a notification with a “deep link” to the relevant place in the document.

The co-workers can then reply to the notification with their contributions, and those contributions will be reflected directly into the document.

Currently, the capabilities are limited for Microsoft Word on the Mac for Office Insiders (Fast) as a preview. You can expect the rollout of these features for Office 365 subscribers soon for Windows.

The author Hemant Saxena is a post-graduate in technology and has an immense interest in following Microsoft and other technology developments around the world. Quiet by nature, he is an avid Lacrosse player.